Special Ed Faces Budget Crunch

April 2, 2010

Special education services will be stretched thin if the Springfield School District is unable to find an extra $36,000 in the budget.

By a unanimous vote Wednesday night, the School Board cut the special education director’s position by 30 percent. While the vote was unanimous, it was also reluctant.

"We need to cut the special ed director by 30 percent, but it is a very needed position and if there is a way, with cost savings, to reinstate that position later in the year, I would certainly be open to discussing that," said board member Ken Vandenburgh, summing up the consensus of the board.

The problem arose from the way in which Special Education Director Sarah Vogel’s salary was structured during the recent budget discussions. Plans had called for funding 40 percent of her salary — about $48,000 — from federal grants, but upon further review it was discovered federal grant guidelines would not allow the position to be funded this way, said Business Manager Steve Hier.

"It looks as though we’ll be able to fund about 10 percent of that position — about $12,000 — through the grant," Hier said. "We had a different interpretation of (federal) supplanting (guidelines) than we did when we proposed this in the budget, and so to work within federal supplanting guidelines we a re basically limited to about $12,000."

Federal supplanting guidelines do not allow grants to be used to fund positions that are already paid for through other means, such as the general budget. Superintendent Frank Perotti said the district will have to search for the money to make up the $36,000 shortfall.

"Obviously this is a very difficult position," Perotti said. "Between now and the end of the (school) year we’re going to have to look for places where we can find the money or change positions so that the money becomes available."

Vogel said the district will have to find the money to continue the same level of support for the roughly 250 pupils within the district who receive special education services.

"I have to say, it can’t be done with 30 percent less time. Dr. Perotti knows that and the board knows that," Vogel said. "Everybody understands that if we don’t do it (fully fund the position), it will end up costing a lot more. A big piece of my job is making sure we stay in compliance with the services we have to deliver."

During her four-year tenure, Vogel has worked to bring back students who had been placed out of the district, a move that has significantly reduced the special education budget.

"I do feel this is a matter of finding the money in the budget, but we want to be clear and open with the public that the planned way of funding isn’t happening and we are going to have to find another way to fund my position," Vogel said.